A forgotten beauty of our grandparents’ garden. We always see rhubarb at the corner of our eye, in old gardens, surviving the ravages of time on abandoned farms, growing by the barn, skirting a cedar pole fence. It’s high time to restore its nobility and praise its virtues in every garden.
Rhubarb is a fabulous vegetable. First, because it’s perennial, meaning you plant it once and it comes back faithfully year after year. Rhubarb produces practically forever. It even grows in zone 3. Second, this vegetable is relatively unaffected by insects and diseases. You can plant it at the far end of the garden and alomst forget about it… except when it’s strawberry and rhubarb pie season.
As Beautiful as It Is Good!
However, planting rhubarb in a remote location would be a poor tribute to its ornamental qualities. Rhubarb is an architecturally interesting plant. Large, bumpy foliage is arranged around a tall, upright flower stalk, majestic and dominant in June. It has the potential to be a statement around which other vegetables in the garden gravitate. Of course, its permanence must be considered before introducing it into a design composed mainly of annual edible plants.
Certainly, the dark foliage of purple orach, ‘Bloody Mary’ beets, purple basil, radicchio , or ‘Redbore’ cabbage creates an interesting contrast. The fine foliage of tarragon, hyssop, and savory are also worth considering. Then, bronze fennel, a beautiful annual that sometimes behaves like a perennial, offers the best of both worlds! Rhubarb is also interesting for forming a hedge that borders the vegetable garden.
Planting Rhubarb in the Right Place
Imposing, it can cover up to 1.5 m (6 feet) in diameter at maturity. It is therefore necessary to allocate a suitable space. Although rhubarb likes full sun, many gardeners confirm it also grows well in partial shade. Soil fertility is an essential condition. When planting, generously enrich the soil with compost or manure and apply 5 cm to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) of new compost every two or three years. Good news for those struggling with heavy, clayey soil, rhubarb is your new best friend, because it thrives there.
Green or Red Petioles?
The rhubarb most often seen around old houses is a variety with green petioles with slight red highlights that one might suspect to be ‘Victoria’, one of the old varieties that has crossed time and space and is still present on shelves today.
These days, we favor varieties with red petioles whose beautiful color persists when cooked. In general, this deep red tint indicates a sweeter flavor, which is sometimes the case, but not always. ‘Canada Red’ rhubarb is the classic variety that can be found almost anywhere. And it is much sweeter than traditional rhubarb. I remember, when I was young, that we had to dip the stalks in sugar to eat them raw. It’s not the case with ‘Canada Red’! The sugar is already there! For a touch of originality, you can find ‘ Strawberry Red’, very interesting for its color and sweet taste, or ‘Valentine’, a more compact variety that flowers only rarely. Lovers of old varieties will seek out the juicy ‘Glaskins’ for its British origins dating back to the 1920s. In truth, there are thirty different varieties of rhubarb, but the Quebec market offers 4 or 5 at most.
Petiole = Yum! Leaf = Yuck!
With rhubarb, only the petioles, that is, the leaf stalks, are eaten, which can measure from 20 cm to 45 cm (8 to 18 inches) in length. The leaves are thrown into the compost because they are considered toxic. A few cases of death and digestive problems have been recorded, but the exact cause of the poisoning is still unknown. Some point to the high concentration of oxalic acids, which are also found in smaller doses in spinach and sorrel. Others mention phenols or anthraquinone glucosides. Regardless, the conclusion remains the same: do not eat rhubarb leaves.
Harvesting Rhubarb
Harvesting is mainly done in spring, roughly when the leaf reaches its full unfolding. With a flick of the hand, the petiole is broken off near the ground. The younger it is, the better the balance between acidity and sweetness. The smaller petioles are also less fibrous, which is useful for jams. Harvesting can still last until mid-August.
After this date, the plant is allowed to rebuild its energy and prepare for winter. Moreover, harvesting must be done wisely, as each petiole removed deprives the plant of a leaf, which is necessary for its development and growth. Wait a full year after planting before harvesting. After that, it is recommended to remove about 50% of the petioles. If you systematically cut 100% of the stems, you will eventually exhaust the rhubarb plant in three or four years.
The precious stalks then head for the jam cauldron. It’s wonderful in pies and smoothies. Explore muffins, turnovers, tarte tatin, crumbles, fruit paste, and ice lollies. And don’t forget about sauces for grills and starters. You can also freeze rhubarb cut into sections for later use. The British have bottomless jars that they place over the rhubarb to force the stems to lengthen and grow without chlorophyll. Rumor has it that forced rhubarb stems are exquisite.
Like strawberries and asparagus, it marks a season with its colors and flavor. Yes, it’s probably already there, at the end of the garden, just waiting for you…
Of Asian origin, it was Marco Polo himself (for he did exist and his legacy is not limited to a simple pool game) who first praised this plant, which was used in China for its medicinal properties. History suggests that the Opium Wars had a link to rhubarb. Indeed, during the Qing dynasty, it was forbidden to sell rhubarb to European foreigners (and tea too) in order to punish the British for their excessive imports of opium from India.